Inside
by csiAngel
Summary: Spoilers up to 4x15. A glimpse at life inside The Framework...
1. Chapter 1

Title: Inside  
Author: csiAngel  
Rating: T  
 **Spoilers: up to 4x15.  
** Disclaimer: I do not own Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D..  
Summary: A glimpse at life inside The Framework…

… … …

 _\- Are you saying we'll eventually be able to be together?  
_ _\- I'm saying that, in the Framework, we already are._

 _May LMD and Coulson LMD, Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. 4x15_

… … …

Parent-teacher meetings had always been one of Phil Coulson's favourite parts of his job. He loved being able to tell parents how well their children were doing, seeing his pride reflected in their faces – watching their children pretend to be mortified and embarrassed, while secretly delighted. But, since Phil had started teaching Katya May last year, these meetings had become the one thing he looked forward to the most; he even counted down the days.

It was crazy, really. But, from the first moment he had met Katya's mother at the orientation meeting, he hadn't been able to stop thinking about her. Melinda May. Agent Melinda May – of Hydra. Phil didn't know what job she did there; he didn't know much about her at all. Just that she had adopted Katya nine years ago from Bahrain… and that something about her just had him completely captivated. He also knew that she was single. Or, at least, he knew that there was no father, or step-father, listed as an emergency contact on Katya's file. He really hoped that she was single. Not that he was likely to ever work up the courage to ask her out. Even now, just sitting, waiting to see her for this meeting, his heart was pounding and his palms were sweaty.

She had been due at six-thirty. It was now six-thirty-seven and he had already noticed that his six-forty appointment was waiting in the hallway. But he would give her the three minutes, just in case.

…

Phil just about managed to push his disappointment aside and focus on his remaining meetings. He knew it was ridiculous for him to feel such a loss at not having seen Ms May, but he couldn't help it.

He was just packing up this belongings from his desk when there was a soft knock at the open door. Glancing up, he nearly dropped his water bottle when he saw Melinda May framed by the doorway, a sheepish smile on her face.

Catching the bottle, he placed it down on his desk. Regaining his composure took a little longer.

"I'm sorry," she said, and she sounded like she really meant it. "I know I'm an hour and a half late and I know everyone is leaving. I just wanted to apologise. I got stuck at work and – "

"It's no problem."

She stepped inside the room. "I am interested in how Katya's getting on."

"I know."

"I don't want you to think that work is my life and Katya comes in second."

"I would never think that."

"Based on the fact that I made it on time to our previous two meetings?"

Phil laughed, lightly. "Partly… But also based on the fact that Katya is clearly a happy young lady, and she's obviously very settled."

Ms May smiled, shyly, and Phil felt himself fall for her a little more.

"Thank you," she whispered.

Phil could only shrug in response, and a silence enveloped them as they smiled at each other awkwardly.

Eventually Ms May broke it. "Anyway, I just wanted to apologise. So, I should let you go."

She started to turn away but he found he didn't want her to leave. "Hang on…"

She stopped.

"You came all the way here, despite the fact that you were over an hour late, and you're going to leave without finding out how Katya is doing?"

"I don't want to keep you. There's only a few people left and you must want to go and get some dinner."

"I can't eat this late on a school night. I had a sandwich earlier."

"Okay. But you must want to get home. Maybe we could schedule a meeting another time? On my day off, perhaps, so I'll turn up on time," she joked, self-deprecatingly.

"We can do that." He liked the idea a lot more than he hoped was conveyed in his expression.

"Thank you. I'll check my schedule and get in touch."

He nodded and she turned away again. And again he felt an overwhelming urge to stop her.

"Or –" That word was out there before he had realised he was going to speak.

She faced him with a delicate frown.

"I could use a coffee… If you'd like we could talk about Katya over coffee. Now."

He couldn't believe he had managed to ask that. He held his breath as he watched her consider the offer. He couldn't read her expression at all; had no idea if he had freaked her out. He was just starting to panic and trying to work out how he could back track and save face when she smiled at him.

"Tea would be nice."

He smiled, with relief, but he hoped it just looked like an acceptable level of pleasure.

"I know somewhere that serves both," he quipped, and he was disproportionately thrilled when that made her laugh. "I'll just grab my things."

…

"You obviously love teaching," Melinda observed when Phil had finished telling her how Katya was doing in his class.

"I do," he told her, honestly. "It has its frustrating moments and I could do without a lot of the paperwork, but it's worth it."

"What made you choose to teach?" she asked him before raising her cup of green tea to her lips.

He tore his eyes away from watching those lips, reprimanding himself for his wandering thoughts, and he tried to answer her question. For a second he wasn't sure he knew the answer. He couldn't remember ever making a choice to teach. But then it came to him.

"I wanted some way to contribute to the greater good… Law enforcement wasn't really my thing," he shrugged, nodding to her in acknowledgement of what she did, "But I thought widening young minds, shaping the leaders of the future, would do my bit."

"From what I hear, you're good at it."

"Really?" It made him ridiculously happy to think that she and Katya had spoken about him at home. He really had it bad.

Melinda shrugged one shoulder. "Well, she doesn't complain about you," she smirked.

Phil laughed at that and leaned forward, asking conspiratorially, "Who does she complain about?"

This time Melinda's laughter lit up her face and Phil was momentarily frozen, in awe of how beautiful she was and how much he had missed seeing her like this. That last part caused him to frown: He had never seen her like this, how could he miss it?

His confusion caused Melinda's laughter to fade. "Are you okay?"

"Oh? Yeah… I just realised that Katya probably wouldn't want me to know who she complains about."

Melinda looked uncertain whether to accept that explanation, but she eventually said, "Probably not."

Phil fiddled with the handle of his coffee cup as he asked her, "How do you think she would feel about you being here?"

Melinda frowned. "She knows the parent-teacher meetings are tonight."

Phil's heart sank. That was all she thought this was. Of course that was all she thought this was.

"Of course," he commented, hoping he didn't sound disheartened. "So, erm, what about you? How did you become an agent of Hydra?"

Melinda's face fell and she looked at him with wide eyes. "How do you know that's what I do?"

Phil's heart raced with panic. Was he not supposed to know? How did he know? Hadn't she –

Suddenly, she grinned widely. "I'm just kidding."

He put a hand to his chest. "Oh, thank God. I was just thinking that I was sure you came to our first meeting in uniform." To be honest, it had made him feel a little intimidated.

"Probably. This is why I have an admin job now. I was never any good at covert operations."

He couldn't tell whether that was true or she was teasing him again.

The uncertainty must have shown on his face because she clarified, "Actually I was _very_ good at covert operations, but when I adopted Katya I decided a desk job was probably safer. I'm rarely out in the field now."

"But it's still no nine-to-five."

"No… Particularly on days when I have places to be."

Phil shrugged. "It worked out in the end… You haven't told me how you got into Hydra, though."

"Oh, yes… Figure skating."

Phil frowned. "I've always wondered if I had the wrong idea about what Hydra do."

Phil decided that Melinda's smirk was as breathtaking as her smile.

"Figure skating got me into martial arts. Martial arts got me noticed by Hydra. And the rest is history."

"Do you like it?"

"I do… Though not as much as you like teaching."

"I've always given my all to whatever job I had."

"Well, you've certainly gone above and beyond this evening. Thank you for doing this."

Phil shook off her thanks. "It was no problem."

"Next time, I'm buying."

Phil's heart skipped. "Next time?"

For the briefest moment she looked like a deer caught in headlights but then she hid it expertly. And Phil was in no doubt at all that she had been _very_ good at covert operations. Though he felt like he kind of already knew that.

"I'm bound to be late again in the future," she justified, flawlessly.

"Perils of a desk job."

She smiled. "… I should go."

It may have been – and probably was – his imagination, but she seemed disappointed.

"Katya will be mortified that I'm so late. She'll think I made them keep the school open just so I could see her teachers… I might let her think that."

"She'll want to know what they all said… And you've only spoken to me." In fact… "Did you apologise to the others?"

He watched her very closely now he knew how well she could hide her reactions. Her eyes widened ever so slightly before she got them under control. Panic. Interesting. He felt his heart speed up a little: She had wanted to see him.

"They had already left," she told him.

He let his smile tell her that he knew that wasn't the complete truth. "I see."

She narrowed her eyes at him and then stood up, collecting her purse and jacket. He stood with her, draping his jacket over his arm.

"I'll walk you to your car," he offered, despite knowing that they had parked on the same side street, "Dodgy neighbourhood."

"Then maybe I should walk you to yours," she returned, playing along.

"Good point… I've never figure skated."

Smiling they walked outside and turned in the direction of their cars.

"This was nice," Melinda commented as they walked. "Best parent-teacher meeting I've ever attended."

"Should I suggest we relocate them to a coffee shop every time?"

"Maybe."

They came to her car first and both stopped.

"I'm just a couple of cars down, I'll be safe," Phil quipped.

"Are you sure?"

"You could keep an eye on me from here."

"Okay."

She stood in front of him and Phil wondered what was the appropriate way to end this impromptu meeting. He wanted to ask for another but, while he was pretty sure there had been some flirting from her tonight, he couldn't be one hundred percent certain that he hadn't misread the situation.

"Well, good night then," she said before he had decided what to do. "And, thank you, again."

"Good night."

Cursing himself for dragging his feet, he moved towards his car.

"Phil…"

He stopped and turned back. "Yeah?"

"Katya would probably kill me if I were to ask out her teacher."

Phil had never experienced such a simultaneous mixture of conflicting emotions as those words caused. Elation over hearing that she wished she could go out with him was swirled with devastation because it couldn't be.

He nodded to show that he understood, offered her one last smile and went to walk away.

"Phil…"

He looked back, a little surprised to find that her eyes were sparkling with amusement.

"Katya would probably kill me if _I_ were to ask out _her teacher_."

And his heart skipped again as his mouth fell open in understanding. And this time, he actually did understand.

Taking two steps closer to her he said, "Right… Okay…"

She watched him, expectantly.

"I really enjoyed tonight."

"Me too."

"Would you like to do this again? Or… dinner, maybe?"

"I would like that."

"Do you think Katya would be okay with it?"

"I think so… I'll check before we confirm anything?"

"Of course."

"Okay." She slipped her hand into her purse and produced her phone. "Do you want to give me your number and I'll let you know what she says?"

Phil removed his own phone from his pocket and they exchanged numbers. Then they exchanged 'good night's – again. And he eventually made it to his car.

As soon as the door was closed he allowed his smile to reflect the depth of excitement that he felt. This morning he had had a little ray of exhilaration at the thought of seeing Melinda for ten minutes. He had never dreamed that the day would end like this.

He had a date with Melinda May.

As long as her daughter approved.

Maybe he'd cancel next week's quiz.

… … …


	2. Chapter 2

Katya appeared in the living room doorway, putting on her jacket.

Melinda looked up from the file she had been reading. "Oh, are you going out?"

"Amber just called about seeing a movie… Is that okay?"

"Of course… I was just - …" She put the file down beside her on the couch. She had already chickened out of this conversation this morning when they'd discussed the feedback from her parent-teacher meeting – which Katya still thought had taken place in the school building. And she'd avoided it again when Katya had got home from school, and again over dinner. She had been building up to just getting it over with. "There is something I wanted to talk to you about."

"Oh." She could have sworn she saw Katya hide a smile. Her daughter walked further into the room and sat down on the chair next to the couch. "Well, I have a few minutes… What's up?"

Melinda studied her daughter closely. Somehow Katya already knew.

"I think you know," she accused.

Now she let her smile free. "I was wondering how long it would be before you told me."

"I take it you don't mind."

"That you're dating Coulson?"

" _Mr_ Coulson," Melinda corrected, belatedly realising that wasn't the part she should have corrected.

"No, I don't mind… As long as I don't have to walk in on the two of you making out."

"Well, as long as you learn to knock –"

"Ew, Mom!"

Melinda laughed. "Anyway, we're not dating."

"Yet."

"We just went for coffee."

"You hate coffee."

"I drank tea."

"But you like him."

"I do."

"Then I'm okay with it… But, could you be discreet? Like go on your dates in another town; no talking to each other at school. And don't expect me to admit it to my friends."

"Go to the movies," Melinda instructed.

Grinning, Katya stood up. She kissed her mother on the cheek before heading for the door.

Melinda was just picking up the file to resume her reading – and wondering why she had allowed herself to be so worried about that conversation – when she realised that Katya had stopped.

"Seriously, though, Mom… I am okay with it. He seems like a nice guy. And when it gets serious, then of course you can date nearby and I won't deny anything if my friends ask."

"Thank you, honey…" Melinda said with an eye roll. "But let's take it one step at a time. We've not had a real date yet."

"No… But I've seen the way he looks at you… Don't be scared, Mom, but this _is_ going to get serious."

With that, her daughter left her alone, her parting words resounding in Melinda's head. And a smile crept across her lips. She was scared, but it was that nervous, excited, anticipatory fear. She had seen the way Phil looked at her too. And she suspected she had been looking at him the same way. She couldn't explain it. She barely knew him but felt drawn to him; felt a connection she had never experienced before.

Her eyes landed on her phone on the table next to her. Katya was out for the next few hours; her work could wait if she got a better offer.

She picked up the phone.

… …

Melinda placed her hand on Phil's when he brought out his wallet. "I'm paying," she reminded him.

He held her gaze for a moment as if contemplating arguing. Then he acquiesced with a nod. "Thank you."

"Least I can do."

They collected their drinks and moved to a table by the window.

"I must admit, I was surprised to hear from you so soon."

"Too keen?"

He laughed. "Not at all."

"I was surprised you were available at such short notice."

"Well, you know, Friday night: What else would I be doing?"

"I guess we both lead such exciting lives."

Phil took a tentative sip of his coffee. "Do you miss the drama of covert operations?"

She thought about that for a moment before replying. Her immediate response had been 'yes'; she definitely had some sort of void inside her and a feeling that it was something to do with her days in the field. But she had never been able to identify what it was that she was missing. Because, in reality, she knew that she had made the right decision.

"I sometimes miss the feeling of control. It's not the same co-ordinating ops from HQ. Particularly if something goes wrong… But I know I did what was best for Katya. I couldn't have her worrying every time I – "

She was interrupted by her phone, ringing from her purse.

"Sorry," she muttered, lifting her purse from the floor and fishing out the object. She checked the screen and apologised again. "I'm sorry, I should just check this isn't work."

"No problem."

She accepted the call and raised the phone to her ear, turning towards the window and speaking quietly so she wouldn't disturb everyone else.

"Skye? What's wrong?"

"Hello to you too. You'd think I only call you when there's a problem."

She didn't need to respond to that, her silence would say it all for her.

"Okay, fair point. But this time there's nothing wrong… Quite the contrary. I hear you've got a boyfriend."

Melinda's eyes darted of their own volition towards Phil who, judging by the smirk on his face, had been able to hear Skye's comment. She tried to fight her resulting smile and turned back to the outside world.

"Could we talk about this later?"

"No. Leave your files for a few minutes and bring me up to speed."

"I'll speak to you later."

"No – Oh!"

Melinda ended the call, dropped her phone back into her purse and returned her gaze to Phil. Who was smiling broadly, clearly highly amused.

"A friend from work," she explained, "And Katya's honorary sister. She tells Skye everything."

"That's nice."

"Yeah… It's never been a problem before. There was never any gossip about me."

Phil's eyes widened slightly and she wondered if she should be making an effort to sound as if her love life hadn't been such a disaster.

"So, if Katya has told Skye, then I guess she really does approve."

Melinda nodded. "She does." _'this is going to get serious.'_ "She really does."

"As long as we date out of town."

"She'd probably prefer out of state, but that's going a bit far."

"Literally."

Melinda laughed. She loved Phil's sense of humour; his quick, witty retorts. She found herself laughing more than she had in years as he told her tales from his early days in teaching; recounted the pranks some of his students had successfully pulled on an unsuspecting rookie.

In return she admitted to some of the stunts she had pulled at the Academy – swearing him to secrecy as, to this day, Nick Fury still wasn't aware that some of them had been her.

She discovered that watching Phil laugh made her feel even more buoyant than experiencing her own laughter. He seemed to genuinely enjoy her stories, listening whole-heartedly. And he was so easy to talk to. Melinda didn't usually give so much away about herself but telling him felt natural, as if she had known him for years and could admit to anything.

As they stopped beside her car when the evening had to end, she found herself reluctant to leave him again. And she had to admit that she agreed with Katya that this was going to get serious. She had definitely fallen for him, and the dreamy smile she caught him hiding whenever she had been turned away from him, certainly implied that he was smitten. It suited him. And it made her feel giddy. God help her if Skye ever found that out!

"Next time, we will do dinner," she told him, when she had begrudgingly accepted that they couldn't stand in the street grinning goofily at each other all night.

"That would be nice… But I don't mind if you find yourself with a few spare hours again and just want to grab a coffee. Or tea."

"This could become a habit."

"I can live with that."

They were just in danger of falling back into the inane smiling when Phil took a step closer to her and she found herself hoping he intended to kiss her.

"But I would really like to have dinner," he told her, softly, and she tried not to be too disappointed. "Are you free tomorrow night?"

She was working until six and hadn't spent an evening with Katya since Monday but she really wanted to accept.

"Too keen?" He echoed her earlier question with a small smile.

She shook her head. "I would really like to say yes, but I haven't spent much time with Katya this week and I'm working all day tomorrow."

"No problem. Why don't you see what plans Katya has over the next week and let me know what works."

"I appreciate that."

He shrugged in that way he had of believing that his big gestures were not all that important. "Of course."

But it was important that he would put Katya first; that he would consider her in their plans, and before she could think about it and talk herself out of it, Melinda stepped forward, rested her hand on his arm, and lightly kissed his cheek in gratitude.

When she dropped back, she found him staring at her in startled disbelief and for a split second she panicked that she had moved too quickly. But then his fingertips grazed her waist as he stepped in closer and she met him halfway, lips joining in a gentle, tender caress.

It lasted merely seconds then they both stepped back and their eyes met. Melinda could feel that her cheeks were flushed and her heart was pounding, and she had a strange feeling that she had been waiting for that moment for years.

"I'm sorry," Phil began, "That was –"

She shook her head. "That was nice. Don't apologise."

All trace of worry left his face and his lips curled into a smile. "It was nice… Maybe _that_ could become a habit."

Melinda laughed. "I'm sure it could."

"… You should go. It's a long drive home… Maybe next time we can car pool."

"Definitely… I'll call you about dinner."

"I'll look forward to it."

He leaned forward and she welcomed his kiss, despite knowing she was in danger of never leaving.

They kept it brief, again, and she smiled at him when they parted. "Good night."

"Good night."

He opened her car door for her and she slid inside, thanking him before he closed it securely after her.

She watched in her mirror as he walked to his own car, then she allowed herself a moment to grin with her giddiness.

… … …

"Hey, how was the movie?" Melinda asked Katya when her daughter called an 'I'm home' from the hallway.

Katya found her in the kitchen, files and papers spread out on the table. Melinda was gathering them together as Katya sat down opposite her.

"It was okay. I've seen better, but it was funny enough… How was your evening?"

Melinda paused in her actions and looked directly at her daughter. That question was loaded.

"Skye?" she queried, suspecting that is how Katya knew she had been out with Phil.

"No… Turns out O'Reilly's is not far enough out of town."

"Oh come on! It's a forty-five minute drive… Who saw us?"

"Amelia's sister."

Melinda frowned, trying to recall if she had met Amelia's sister. Deciding she had, she cast her mind back over her evening. "I didn't see her."

"Well, no, you wouldn't have," Katya smirked, "She said you were a little busy."

Melinda used every self-control technique she knew to stop herself from blushing. "Sounds like she may have embellished."

"I don't know, she sounded pretty convincing. I actually wish she had given me less details." Katya added a shudder for good measure.

"She saw nothing."

"So you weren't kissing Coulson in the street?"

" _Mr_ Coulson," Melinda corrected again.

"If you carry on as you are, I'll be calling him _Dad_ Coulson before the year is out."

Melinda couldn't help but laugh at that. "You do exaggerate."

"You do deflect."

"It was – " She stopped herself from saying 'one'. " – two kisses. Brief kisses. That's all."

Katya feigned outrage. "On the first date? Mom!"

"Your friend embellished."

"No, I embellished. She saw one kiss and she said it was all very tame."

"Katya…"

"Interesting though, that you never mentioned that you were going out tonight."

"I found myself at a loose end."

"So you immediately called _Mr_ Coulson?"

Melinda just shot her a warning look.

"Okay, we won't discuss it any further… But remember, Mom: I am learning from your example, here. Secret rendezvous; making out on the first date – making out _in_ _public_ on the first date…"

"I've done nothing wrong."

Katya smiled, widely, and somewhat adoringly, at her mother. "It's good to see you like this."

Melinda ducked her gaze away. "Oh, hush."

"When are you seeing him again?"

"We haven't made any definite plans… I was going to ask you if there's an evening you're planning to go out or…"

"You can make plans with him, I don't mind."

"I know. But you and I haven't spent much time together this week. You come first… You will always come first."

Katya nodded. "I know."

"If at any point, you don't like this – "

"Mom, unless he does something to hurt you, that's not going to happen… Do you know how happy you look?"

"I've been trying to tone it down before I see Skye tomorrow."

"Not succeeding."

"It would help if you didn't send her updates."

"She would kill me if I didn't send her updates," Katya grinned. "… She's happy for you."

"Warn her to keep it out of work."

"Already have."

Melinda smiled at that. For all Katya liked to wind her up, she knew her limits. "Thank you."

"Now, Amber and I saw a trailer for another film we'd like to see… How about you and I have mother-daughter time tomorrow night, then on Sunday I'll go to the movies, and you can see _Mr_ Coulson."

"It doesn't have to be this weekend –"

"I think it does… Call him. Make the date."

Katya stood up, rounded the table and gave her mom a hug. "Night, Mom. Love you."

"Love you too. Sleep well."

Katya left the room and, smiling, Melinda reached for her phone.

She paused when Katya called to her.

"And, Mom, better make the drive at least an hour – just to be sure."

… … …


End file.
